New York
N.Y.C. Council Speaker Attacks Trump in Potential Preview of Mayoral Bid
The annual State of the City address by the speaker of the New York City Council, Adrienne Adams, would typically be seen as a blueprint for the Council’s agenda in the coming year.
But her speech on Tuesday carried far more weight.
Ms. Adams formed a campaign committee to run for mayor last week, in preparation for a potential late bid, with the Democratic primary looming in June.
She is expected to make a final decision this week, but signs seem to be pointing to her jumping in the race. She is assembling a campaign team and participated this weekend in a screening for the endorsement of Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, an influential city union.
Even if she doesn’t run, her vision for New York City also carried added importance given the diminished influence of Mayor Eric Adams; under Ms. Adams’s leadership, the Council has overridden the mayor’s vetoes on critical criminal justice measures.
Should she choose to run, Ms. Adams faces an uphill battle. She’ll have a compressed period to raise money and boost her low name recognition. None of the four previous Council speakers who have run for mayor have been successful, and no woman has ever served as mayor. And the entrance into the race over the weekend of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who polls show is the front-runner, has shifted the center of gravity in the contest.
Ms. Adams mentioned none of that in her speech at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where she instead focused on accomplishments such as plans to boost the production of affordable housing, extend discounts for those struggling to pay bus and subway fares and protect immigrant and L.G.B.T.Q. people from the policies of the Trump administration.
Ms. Adams criticized President Trump throughout her speech, saying he was on a “cruel crusade against immigrant families,” was “willing to burn everything in his way” for power and that his policies were damaging small businesses.
Mr. Adams, who is not related to the Council speaker, has been criticized for not speaking more forcefully against Trump administration policies that are likely to harm the city. The mayor has been accused of being beholden to Mr. Trump after the Justice Department moved to dismiss a five-count federal corruption indictment against him.
The federal prosecutor handling the case resigned rather than dismiss the charges. She said there was a quid pro quo, in which the mayor would participate in Trump administration immigration enforcement in exchange for a dismissal of the charges.
“It is up to us to counter the tyranny taking root at our federal level, and right here in our own backyard,” Ms. Adams said to applause.
Mr. Adams was not in attendance. He had instead traveled to Washington, D.C., where he was expected to testify before Congress on Wednesday about New York’s status as a sanctuary city.
Ms. Adams said in her speech that her agenda reflected her style of collaborative and community-facing leadership, a model that could be “scaled for greater impact” by those who controlled the levers of power.
“Throughout my time in office, I’ve been labeled a ‘moderate’ in people’s attempt to make sense of who I am. But my focus has always been public service, which has no political label,” Ms. Adams said. “How we gauge policy solutions should be based on their effectiveness in improving the lives of New Yorkers.”
The event had a gauziness more typically associated with mayoral addresses. An ensemble performed the song “A Change Is Gonna Come,” by Sam Cooke; the actor Wendell Pierce spoke; and Ms. Adams was introduced by a young mother who had benefited from one of the City Council’s college access programs.
Among those in the audience was Brad Lander, the city comptroller and one of the Democrats running in the June primary, and Jumaane Williams, the public advocate.
“It sounds like she knows how to run a city,” Mr. Williams said after the speech.
Mr. Lander said Ms. Adams had delivered a strong speech about how to “protect New Yorkers” from Donald Trump and the threats to housing affordability, child care and public safety.
“That’s the conversation New Yorkers want,” Mr. Lander said. “New Yorkers don’t want corrupt chaos agent Andrew Cuomo replacing corrupt chaos agent Eric Adams.”
Among the new proposals Ms. Adams introduced was a plan to fund vouchers for families with children 2 years old or younger that would allow those making slightly more than the limit to be eligible for assistance. She also proposed a plan to help adults and young people obtain degrees at the City University of New York by providing up to $1,000 to clear unpaid balances so students could re-enroll in classes.
To increase the growth of minority- and women-owned business, Ms. Adams proposed a “minority business accelerator” that would help firms gain contracts from the private industry. Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the Center for an Urban Future, which proposed the idea a few years ago, said the proposal would “build wealth in communities of color and strengthen the city’s economy for everyone.”
Ms. Adams also proposed legislation that would speed payment to nonprofits that provided residents with vital city services. To help with the city’s mental health crisis, Ms. Adams proposed creating a “holistic” model to make community centers places that offer mental health services, as well as physical and recreational opportunities.
She also announced a plan to expand library access by restoring seven-day-per-week service at 10 branches across the city. Ms. Adams led a charge to reverse the mayor’s proposal to cut $58.3 million in library funding last year.
“We need solutions more than slogans, service rather than saviors and partnership over patriarchy,” Ms. Adams said as she ended her speech, sounding very much like a candidate for mayor. “The dignity and trust in government leadership has been shaken in our city and it must be restored.”
new video loaded: Historic Brooklyn Church Destroyed in Fire
By Meg Felling
June 22, 2026
How can people possibly afford to live in one of the most expensive cities on the planet? It’s a question New Yorkers hear a lot, often delivered with a mix of awe, pity and confusion.
We surveyed hundreds of New Yorkers about how they spend, splurge and save. We found that many people — rich, poor or somewhere in between — live life as a series of small calculations that add up to one big question: What makes living in New York worth it?
Maruf Abubakari Sadick left Ghana for New York in April 2023, confident he was prepared for chilly weather.
When he arrived that morning, the temperatures were in the 50s. He might as well have arrived during a snowstorm.
“‘It’s really cold,’” he told his brother, who laughed and reminded him it wasn’t even winter. His brother brought him a warm jacket, sparking a love affair with outerwear, as well as clothes and colognes.
Three years later, these are the little luxuries on which Mr. Sadick splurges when he is not working two jobs as a security officer in the city.
“I really like to look good, and I like to smell good,” Mr. Sadick, 37, said. “I just tell myself ‘I work too hard. It’s self care.’”
Together, his security jobs bring in close to $46,000 a year, which pays for rent, remittances to his family in Ghana, Wi-Fi, his phone bill and groceries. At the end of the month, he squirrels away what he can so he can one day pay for nursing school.
His rent is $700 a month, which affords him a room in a four-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in the East Bronx that he shares with two other men and one woman.
“Funny enough, we don’t have a schedule for the bathroom,” Mr. Sadick said. “It’s not easy.”
He buys a 30-pound bag of rice for $30 from the nearby bodega that lasts him about three months and a 40-pack of Poland Spring water for $20 so he can bring a bottle to work.
The housemates often share food, usually fish stews and okra soups that Mr. Sadick pours into a thermos, along with the rice, which he then takes to work. It helps him avoid paying for takeout which can cost more than $20.
Mr. Sadick said he learned quickly that to survive in New York, you need to share.
Two Jobs, Little Sleep
Mr. Sadick makes $17 an hour at both jobs, earning the current minimum wage in the city. By next year, he could be making at least $22.20 an hour, with two weeks of paid vacation and paid holidays.
The bump in pay is part of the Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act, a city law that Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed shortly after he took office that set a minimum wage for security guards. The law, which also requires employers to contribute to paid time off and health benefits, was named after the security officer who was fatally shot in July 2025 at 345 Park Avenue by a gunman who killed three others before killing himself.
Mr. Sadick did not know Mr. Etienne, but he said his death terrified him and other security officers, who realized how vulnerable they were at work.
The job “seems easy,” he said. “It seems quiet. Then, one moment, it’s all chaos.”
From Tuesday to Friday he works a four to eight-hour shift when he guards a sprawling office complex in Long Island City, Queens.
On weekends, he guards a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in East Harlem from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. When his shift ends, he takes the subway for a 40-minute commute back to the office complex in Queens, where he works 12-hour overnight shifts on Saturday and Sunday.
Three days a week he takes GED classes in the morning, which are free to state residents. Mondays are his one day off, which he uses “to make up for the two days that I don’t sleep,” Mr. Sadick said.
During the summers, when school is not in session, he tries to make some money selling bus tours to tourists around Times Square. On a good day, he will make $250 to $500 in commissions. On bad days, he will spend five hours in the heat with nothing to show for it.
He said he was exhausted, but driven to pursue a career in medicine.
“I like to take care of people,” he said.
Sending Help Home
A big part of Mr. Sadick’s salary goes to his family in Ghana. On average, he will send $500 a month to help pay for his parents’ food, his grandmother’s health aide and his sister’s schooling.
Last month, he sent a $1,200 so that his parents could buy two sheep. He sent the money through Taptap Send, an app that lets people send money to countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America.
The sheep should provide enough meat to last them a couple of months, he said. His brother sent over $2,000 around the same time so that their extended family could buy a bull.
Sending money home is “expected,” Mr. Sadick said, adding that he feels “very good” about being able to help.
“We are brought up in a system where it’s all about family,” he said. “You are brought up to provide.”
Self-Care Is Worth the Splurge
When Mr. Sadick has extra money in his pocket, he will pop into Zara or Macy’s, where he shops for shoes, jackets and button-down shirts.
He has six bottles of cologne. His favorites are Al Rehab Lord Eau De Parfum and Mountain Woody Forest from Zara. The Al Rehab cologne, which sells for $10.95 an ounce on Amazon, is for daytime. He saves the Mountain Woody Forest — $74.99 on Amazon — for special occasions.
He owns 18 pairs of shoes, including red and white Air Jordans that he bought for $200 and a pair of brown, suede boots from Zara that cost $100.
“These are my favorites,” he said, stroking the soft Zara boots. “I look a bit professional in them.”
He is still trying to figure out what he will do when his salary goes up.
Most likely, he said he would keep working both jobs so that he could save more money. But he daydreams about quitting one of them.
It would be nice, Mr. Sadick said, to get more sleep, have time to play soccer and visit art museums.
What he would really like is more time to take long walks.
One of his favorite places to walk is Dumbo, where he worked briefly guarding a construction site and fell in love with the sweeping views of Manhattan and the cool breeze that comes off the water.
A place in Dumbo, he said, would be the ultimate indulgence.
“That would be a dream come true,” Mr. Sadick said. “It’s so nice there.”
We are talking to New Yorkers about how they spend, splurge and save.
new video loaded: Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire
transcript
transcript
Fans Show Up to the Parade in Their Best Knicks-Themed Attire
New York Knicks fans showed up in droves to a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan in their best orange and blue outfits to honor the N.B.A champions.
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“Patrick Ewing. He didn’t get a ring. But I wear your sneakers, bro. When I was in high school, back in the ’90s, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, they were the team that I rooted for in the ’90s. They didn’t make it. So as a tribute to him because this is where I started at being a fan, Patrick Ewing. Knicks hat in denim — I’m a denim fanatic. So I love denim — Knicks hat. And yeah, that’s it.” “This is my style. I usually dress like this every day. But I did a special Knicks edition. It’s all really fun. I start with my makeup. I did really cute flames on my eyes because the Knicks are fire. I don’t really know what I’m going to do before I put it on. I just figure it out along the way. Like, this is a piece of fabric and I just layer in stuff.” “This is from my online boutique and the hat I just bought on the way to the parade because I wanted to match the jumpsuit, and that’s how I came up with the outfit.” “She was ready to go, man.” “Can you show your fingernail?” “She’s been sleeping in her Jalen Brunson jersey for the last 10 weeks. We’ve been watching all the games. You want to tell them who’s your favorite player?” “Jalen Brunson.” “I’m pretty sure this jersey was actually made for a human baby. But they’re selling them around the block. And we threw it on Chester and everyone started clapping. So — he wears it well.” “Blue and orange.” “So I did blue and orange.” “It had to be orange and blue. “Orange and blue. Orange and blue.”
By Meg Felling, Jeremy Raff, Ang Li and David Cheung
June 18, 2026
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